Method of making rail anchors



' Feb.5, 1929. 1,700,775

N. E. SAMPSON :Lled July 25, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet' Feb. 5, 1929. 1,700,775

N. E. SAMPSON METHOD OF MAKING RAIL ANCHORS Original Filed Ju1y 25, 1924 4 shkgts-sheet 2 1} a: 3 (9 25 V v r I mu wxmm Feb. 5, 1929. 1,700,775

. N. E. SAMPSON v METHOD OF MAKING RAIL ANCHORS O riginaI FiIed July 25, 1924. 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I IIIII II! 3 A umn I A 40' H Y Feb. 5; 1929. 1,700,775

N. E. SAMPSON METHOD OF MAKING RAIL ANCHORS Original Filed July 25'; 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 5% it? mam NORMAN E. SAMPSON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO CANTON FORGE &

COMPANY, OF GANTOH, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

AXLE

.METI-IOD or MAKING RAIL ANCHORS.

Original application filed July 25, 182%, Serial No. 728,199. Divided and this application filed June 24,

1926. Serial No. 118,237. 1

This invention relates to'ra-il anchoring devices and has for its primary object the provision of an improved method of making devices of this character whereby they may be expeditiously and economically manufactured by combined forging and bending operations. 4

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved method of manufacturing railjanchors, whereby devices of this character may be formed from relatively thin metal blanks, so as to expedite the bending operations and minimize the weight of the anchor, and which also provides for so displacing the metal of the blank as to increase the strength of the anchor device at the point where the greatest strength is needed. Another specific object of the invention is to so swage the metal of the blank, in the manufacture of sheet metal anchors of the type having co-engaging wedging surfaces which interlock with each other at a point beneath the rail base, as to form the co-enga ing Wedging surfaces with a high degree or accuracy and to provide the anchor device with r a fiat surface for bearing against the under surface of the rail base at a point above said co-engaging surfaces.

The invention has for further objects the provision of such other improvements in the method of making rail anchor devices as will be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated objects and such other objects as will appear from the following dcscription of the invention.

in the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the rail anchor made in accordance with the improved method of this invention, and shown in its operative position on a railroad rail.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the construction shown in Fig. 1, 5

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of one of the members ofthe rail anchor.

Fig. 4c is a View, in perspective, of the other member of the anchor device.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of two die members positioned to grip a metal bar between them and showing certain steps in the manufacture of the rail anchor element shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 shows the partly formed blank, of the anchor element shown in Fig. 3, prepar-v atory to carrying out certain other steps of the improved method. I

embrace the base of a rail.

' ative position.

-Fig. 7 is another view of the dies shown in 'Fig. 6 and showing the anchor member bent to its completed form.

Fig. 8 is a 'plan view of the blank employed in the manufacture of the member shownlin Fig. 4;.

Fig. 9 shows this blank in position bet-ween the die members between which it is bent to a partially formed member.

Fig. 10 is a view of the die member shown in the preceding figure, but showing them in their closed position, and showing one end of the blank forged to its finished form.

Fig. 11 shows the dies and plunger mech anism for bending the other end of, the anchor element to its finished form and for bending down a portion of the blank to form the tie abuttingmember of the anchor.

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 showing the bending plungers at the end of their,

anchor illustrated is of a two-piece type as j shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, and consists of two jaw members 10 and 11 which have a wedging engagementwith each other and interlock with each other by reason of said wedging engagement. 1 The two members when so interlocked with each other provide a complete rail anchor device and together The member 10 is formed at one end with a aw 12 adapted to lit over one edge of the rail base 13 and at the other end with a'channcl shaped portion,

the upstanding flange 15 or which inclines inwar ly and is slightly'oblique with respect to the jaw 12, so as to provide a wedge sur face 16. The-member 11 is formed with a 'j aw 17 adapted to fit over the'other edge of the base and is provided with a downturned flange 18. The fiangelS is disposedat an angle corresponding to the angle of the flange 15 so that the flanges 15 and 18 will function as wedge members to force the jaws 12 and 17 into firm gripping engagement with the rail when the member 11 is driven to its oper The. flange 18 is inclined from the vertical to correspond with the inclination of the flange 15 of the member 10, so as to provide an interlocking engagement which will prevent the channeled end M of the member from moving downward. The

11 is then moved longitudinally of the rail so as to bring its angularly disposed end 18.

into interlocking engagement with the flange 15 of the other member. may then be driven toward the tie until the jaw grips the rail base and a tight fit of the interlocking flanges is effected.

In manufacturing ra1l anchors of the above i type from sheet metal blanks, it has been customary, prior to this invention, to shear one end of each blank along a diagonal line and then bend the blank along its diagonal edge to form one of the interlocking flanges corresponding to flanges 15 or 18. The shearing of the blanks along a diagonal line makes it difficult to economize in metal. and at the same time form the diagonal edge at the proper end of successively formedblanks. Furthermore, the relatively narrow width of the flange and the angle to which it must be bent to provide the interlocking of the parts 10 and 11, makes the bending opera tion diflicult. The bending of the blank also tends to stretch the metal of the bend and thereby weakens the said flange at the point where strength is needed. Aside from the stretching of the metal the strength of the interlocking flanges is limited by the thick ness of the blank from which the anchor member is formed.

When manufacturing the above type of anchor in accordance, with the'present invention, the end of the blank on which the interlocking flange is formed, is heated to a forging temperature and the heated end is then upset to form one of the interlocking flanges. The upsetting of the end displaces the metal so as to reinforce the parts of the anchor indicated in Fig. 2 by the reference characters A and B. This displacement of metal makes it practicable to use relatively thin blanks, thereby facilitating the bend ing of the blank and at the same time providing sufficient strength to avoid distortion of the interlocking flanges when they are driven into wedging engagement. The dis placement of the metal of the blank from which the member 11 is formed, in addition to strengthening the flange 18, provides a flat bearing surface at the end of the member for engaging the under surface of the rail,

thereby providing a brace to resist any tendency of the flange 18 to bend or straighten out when the member is driven to its wedging posltlon. When manufacturing the above type of anchor in accordance with the present inventlon, a strip of metal or bar The member 11 21 of suitable thickness is heated to a forging temperature and the desired length of-lll'ank 22 is partly severed from the bar. The end of the blank on which the interlocking flange is formed, instead of being sheared on a V cuagonal lme 1s sheared on a hne perpendlcubending of the blank and at the same time providing suflicient strength to withstand the severe usage to which devices of this char-I acter are subjected. The partial severing of the blank may be performed by any suitable The means illustrated in the drawthe partial shearmg means. v ings for performing operation consists of die sections 23 and 2 1.

In practice the heated end of the bar 21 is inserted between the die sections 23 and 24 and positioned against a gauge 25. The die sections are then closed upon the heated end of the bar and thereby press the blank 22 over the shoulder 26 of the die sections 24 so as to partially sever the blank from the metal stock. The partially severed blank is held firmly between the die sections 23 and 2% and the end of the blank is upset to form the flange 18 of the finished member 11. The upsetting operation is performed, preferably, while the blank 22 is clamped between the die sections 23 and 24 so that the displace ment of metal will be confined to the heated end of the blank. The means shown in the drawings for upsetting'the end of the blank 22 consists of a plunger 27 which enters an opening 28 between the. die sections 23 and 2-1. The inward movement of the plunger 27 pi-017.; the end of the blank 22 and presses the upset end portion against an undercut shoulder 29 of the die 23 to complete the formation of the angular-1y disposed flange 18 of the anchor member. blank 22 is upset, as above described, the partially formed blank is then severed from the bar and is bent to its finished form. The shearing and bending operations are per- After the end of the formed by means of die sections 30 and 31 The shoulder 32, formed by partly severing the blank from the bar, is held bythe workman against the edge of the die section 31 and serves as a gauge to insure the proper positioning of the blank between the said die sections. The die section 30 is then moved from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the closed position. shown in Fig. 7. During this movement of the die section 30, the blank is severed from the die and is bent around the anvil portion 33 ofthe'die section 31, by means of the projections 34 and 35 of die section 30. The contour of the anvil 33 corresponds to the rail gripping surfaces of said anchor member. While the anchor member 11 is held on the anvil, the plunger 36 enters a recess 87 in the die section 31 and strikes the forged end of the anchor member so as to press it firmly against the anvil.

The member 10 of the anchor, instead of being made from a metal'strip as shown in connection with the manufacture of member 11, is made from a sheet metal blank 38 of the configuration shown in Fig. 8. The end 39 is sheared on a line perpendicular to the edge 40. The end 39 of the blank is heated to a forging temperature and the rest of the blank is heated to a temperature suitable for bending. The blankis first subjected to an initial bending operation and the heated end is then upset to form the flange 15 of the anchor member.

. The initial bending of the blank is effected by die sections L1 and 42 between which the heated blank is clamped to form the bends L8, 44 and 45. lVhile the blank tween the die sections, the end 39 of the blank is upset by means of a plunger 46. This plunger enters the recess 47 of the die sections 42 and presses the upset portion against an undercut shoulder 48 of the die section 42, to form the upstanding flange 15 of the anchor member.

The blank is then removed from between the die sections 41 and 4:2 and the portion 50 is bent over to provide a tie abutting flange and the end 51 is bent over a suitable anvil to form the rail base engaging jaw 12 of the anchor member. These bending operations are performed preferably by means of die sections 52 and 53, and plungers 54 and 55. In practice the partially formed blank is positioned between the die sections 52 and 58 in the position shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings. The portion 50 of the blank is first sent over by means of the plunger 55 until the said portion 50 assumes the dotted line position shown in Fig. 13. The end 51 of the blank is then bent over the anvil portion 56 of the die section 52 by means of the plunger 5a.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 7 28,199, filed. July 25,1924.

I claim 1. The method of making a rail anchor comprising the heating of aportion of a metal blank to a forging temperature, displacing the metal of said heated portion to provide a flange, and bending other portions of the blank to form a rail gripping jaw portion for engaging the upper and lower'surfaces of a rail base.

2. The method of making a rail anchor from sheet metal comprising the heating of an end portion of a sheet metal blank to a forging temperature, upsetting the metal of said end portion to provide a flange, and

is clamped be-.

perature,

bending the other end of theblank to form a rail gripping jaw portion for-engaging the upper and lower surfaces of a rail base.

3. The method of making a rail anchor comprising the heating of ametal blank and forging an end there-of to provide an angularlydisposed portion in which the metal extends to the apex of the angle,'and bending the other end of the blank to form a rail gripping portion. i

l. The method'of making a rail anchor comprising the heating of a metal blank and upsetting one end thereof to provide an angularly disposed portion in which the thickness of the metal, on a line bi-secting the angle, is greaterthan the thickness of the body of the blank, and bending the other end of the blank to provide a hook shaped rail gripping portion.

5. The method of manufacturing a rail anchor member comprising the heating of one end of a metal bar, partially severing a blank of suitable length of said heated portion-from the bar, upsetting the end of said severed portion, then completely severing the blank from the bar and bending the end last severed to provide a rail gripping portion.

6. The method of making a rail anchor comprising the cutting of a sheet metal blank of the configuration shown inFig. 10, heating the end 45of the blank to a forging temperature, forming the blank with the bends 49, 50 and 51, gripping the partially formed blank between dies and upsetting the end 45 to provide an angular y disposed flange, then bending the portion 47 of the blank to form a tie abutment and bending the other end of the blank to form a rail gripping portion.

7. The method of manufacturing a twopiece rail anchor having angularly disposed interlocking flanges, comprising the heating of suitable blanks from which the anchor members are formed, upsetting an end of each blank to provide said angularly disposed interlocking flanges, whereby the metal is flowed toward the apexes of the angles, and bending the other end of each blank to form rail gripping portions of said members.

8. The method of making a rail anchor partially comprising the shearing of a metal blank,

heating one end of the blank to a forging tembending the blank to an angular configuration, gripping the bent blank between gripping means and upsetting one'end thereof to provide an angularly disposed flange, then bending portions of the blank simultaneously in different directions to provide a tie abutting portion and a rail gripping portion of the anchor. V

9. The method of making a rail anchor member comprising the heating of a metal blank, gripping the blank between dies, upsetting one end of against an undercut shoulder of the dieto the blank and presslng it,

7 inclined flange,

provide an inclined flange, then bending the blank to provide a rail gripping port-ion.

10. The method of making a rail anchor comprising'the heating of a metal blank, gripping the blank between dies, upsetting one end of the blank and pressing it against an undercut shoulder of the die to provide an then bending the blank around a projecting portion of the die and subjecting the forged end of the blank to pressure to press it firmly against the die.

11. The method of making a rail anchor member comprising the shearing of a metal member so that one end Will be perpendicular to the longitudinal cent of the member, heating said end of the metal'membento a forging temperature, clamping said metal member be tween dies to prevent displacement of the metal in the body portion of said member, displacing the metal of said end portion to provide a flange inclined relative to the longitudinal edges ofthe blank, and bendingthe blank to form a rail gripping aw portion for i engaging the upper and lower surfaces of a rail base.

NORMAN E. SAMPSON. 

